BP named Gareth Burns as vice president for its BP Ventures technology incubator as the global oil & gas giant continues to expand its key energy transition team.
Burns joins BP from Equinor, where he founded and led since 2016 the Norwegian group’s Equinor Energy Ventures operation as part of a 30-year energy industry career.
BP Ventures has made a number of forays into potentially game-changing energy technologies, most recently backing a rapid-build 'fold-out' solar technology that is claimed to be able to deploy a megawatt-scale plant in a day.
Burns said: “It’s an immensely exciting time to lead the team. Last year, BP announced five transition growth engines that will drive its transformation – bioenergy, convenience, electric vehicle charging, renewables and hydrogen. We will build our portfolio of promising start-ups within these areas as well as look into potential disruptive plays to complement these.”
BP also announced the hiring of Giorgia Carchitto as senior vice president, low carbon commercial assets.
Carchitto was formerly executive vice president for commercial assets and portfolio analysis at German power giant RWE Renewables.
BP has over the last two years made a string of high-profile additions to its green and low-carbon business as it pursues renewable energy targets that are among the most ambitious of any oil & gas player, including a goal to install 50GW net by 2030.
